Repetition Terms

Alliteration definition

repetition of the same sound at the beginning of successive words

Alliteration example

"Our liberties, our values — all for which America stands — is safe today because brave men and women have been ready to face the fire at freedom's front. And we thank God for them."

Anaphora definition

repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines

Anaphora example

"I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today."

Assonance definition

repetition of vowel sounds, but not consonant sounds

Assonance example

"His tender heir might bear his memory."

Anadiplosis definition

takes the last word of a sentence or phrase and repeats it near the beginning of the next sentence or phrase.

Anadiplosis example

"In education we find the measure of our own ignorance; in ignorance we find the beginning of wisdom."

Chiasmus definition

repetition of ideas in inverted order

Chiasmus example

"The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."

Conduplicatio definition

takes an important word from anywhere in one sentence or phrase and repeats that word at the beginning of the next sentence or phrase.

Conduplicatio example

"This law destroys the fruits of thirty years of struggle, bringing us back to a less enlightened time. Law should be evolutionary, building up rather than tearing down."

Consonance definiton

repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels, as in assonance

Consonance example

"At the edge of the bridge, I stood, refusing to budge or to even acknowledge my predicament."

Epistrophe definition

ending a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words

Epistrophe example

"For no government is better than the men who compose it, and I want the best, and we need the best, and we deserve the best."

Parallelism definition

repetition of sentences using the same grammatical structure emphasizing all aspects of the sentence equally

Parallelism example

"Feed a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed a man for life."

Polysyndeton definition

use of many conjunctions has the effect of slowing the pace or emphasizing the numerous words or clauses

Polysyndeton example

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."